RICO ROYAL GRAFONITETONE CHAMBERSTone Chamber Style (A, B, or C): The tone chamber of a mouthpiece is the inside area of the mouthpiece. The size and shape of the tone chamber will change the tone quality of the instrument. With the Rico Royal mouthpieces, an "A" tone chamber will give a dark sound which is best suited for concert work, a "B" tone chamber will give a little more brilliance (better for using with most bands), and a "C" tone chamber will give a lot more brilliance and edge which is great for rock and jazz bands.FACINGSFacing (3, 5, or 7): The facing is determined by the distance from the tip of the reed to where it first touches the mouthpiece. The bigger the facing number, the farther back the reed goes before actually touching the mouthpiece. Changing the facing of the mouthpiece will generally change the volume of the instrument. With a shorter facing (3), less of the reed is vibrating, so the instrument will tend to be quieter, with a longer facing (7), more of the reed is vibrating, so the instrument will tend to be louder.

I just bought this inexpensive Ricoh Graphtonite tenor mouthpiece and it is my favorite among various choices. There seems to be little reason to spend a lot of money for a mouthpiece or for...Read complete review

I just bought this inexpensive Ricoh Graphtonite tenor mouthpiece and it is my favorite among various choices. There seems to be little reason to spend a lot of money for a mouthpiece or for a ligature. The description provided for Ricoh sax mouthpieces on the Musicians Friend website and some other reviews explain how to choose a size (C5 vs C7, etc.). This is a very important consideration to be determined by the softness of the read and your style of play. I like the volume of the C7 for rock 'n roll. I also like to Ricoh Plasticover reeds which do not need any preparation (wetting) between sets, have a bright sound, and last a long time! I am using these inexpensive products on a vintage Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone and like them more than the expensive ones. There can be a wonderful variety of sounds achieved with different mouthpieces. The key components are the person, the sax, the mouthpiece and reed, and lastly the ligature. I am thrilled with this product and I just ordered another one to use on my King tenor saxophone. I am now using and liking the least expensive Rovner ligatures (cloth, not leather), but any difference compared to metal ones is likely subtle. There is an informative and funny you tube video with a professional musician testing ligatures including standard ones vs a rubber band, shoelace, and others!

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I needed a different sound from my Otto Link metal mouthpiece. I didn't want to buy an expensive mouthpiece before having a sense of how these mouthpieces work. I didn't like the sound.

I needed a different sound from my Otto Link metal mouthpiece. I didn't want to buy an expensive mouthpiece before having a sense of how these mouthpieces work. I didn't like the sound.

I already wrote a review and love these quality Ricoh mouthpieces and the low price. I wrote review of the C7 Ricoh mouthpiece style for rock music. This has a loud and very bright sound. Since the price is so reasonable, I have experimented with a few others. Each specification (size and shape of hole, etc.) obviosuly makes a difference and will sound better (to your ear) depending on the sax you play. Overall, I now favor the B5 style for a combination of both a rich and a bright tone with nice volume suitable for rock and jazz styles. The C models are brighter, but not quite as rich to MY EAR. There really seems to be no need to spend more for a mouthpiece unless you want to pay a lot more for a good metal one. I do have have an Otto Link mouthpiece and presently not use it. I also like the Plsticover reeds.

I recently purchased a new Saxophone and the mouthpiece that came with it was less than thrilling, so I started searching for a new one. I had a very expensive stainless steel one for the tenor I had recently sold and sent the mouthpiece with it. Dumb move. I started reading the ordering information on the Rico mouthpieces and, since the cost was low, decided to try one. Frankly, I would recommend this as the only mouthpiece to buy and plan to order ones for my alto and soprano saxophones. Rico never fails me.

I wrote a review already about the Rico Graftonite C-7 mouthpiece. I like the B-7 even more and particularly when amplified through PA. The tone is sweeter and not as bright as C-7. The reed will also make a difference. The Rico specs explain the choices well: A is warmer, B is brighter, C is very bright (but better with softer reed), 5 has medium volume, and 7 is loudest. I have tried a few.

I just bought this inexpensive Ricoh Graphtonite tenor mouthpiece and it is my favorite among various choices. There seems to be little reason to spend a lot of money for a mouthpiece or for a ligature. The description provided for Ricoh sax mouthpieces on the Musicians Friend website and some other reviews explain how to choose a size (C5 vs C7, etc.). This is a very important consideration to be determined by the softness of the read and your style of play. I like the volume of the C7 for rock 'n roll. I also like to Ricoh Plasticover reeds which do not need any preparation (wetting) between sets, have a bright sound, and last a long time! I am using these inexpensive products on a vintage Selmer Mark VI tenor saxophone and like them more than the expensive ones. There can be a wonderful variety of sounds achieved with different mouthpieces. The key components are the person, the sax, the mouthpiece and reed, and lastly the ligature. I am thrilled with this product and I just ordered another one to use on my King tenor saxophone. I am now using and liking the least expensive Rovner ligatures (cloth, not leather), but any difference compared to metal ones is likely subtle. There is an informative and funny you tube video with a professional musician testing ligatures including standard ones vs a rubber band, shoelace, and others!

It improved my sound, as I had hoped. I have not experimented with mouthpieces much and did not want to spend a lot to see if a different brand would help me out. I liked being able to choose the chamber style and facing (B5). For this price I may try some other styles, too. Arrived promptly.

A Vito tenor sax with a generic student mouthpiece had a decent dark sound miked through the PA system. With the Graftonite C5 mouthpiece, I was amazed at how much it opened the sound to a fuller, richer and brighter sax sound, making that humble Vito really sing.

Reports abound on inexpensive Chinese metal mouthpieces, varying from mediocre in sound reproduction and construction quality to very good. I gather it is depends upon the particular factory producing it. If you want something that is definitely a good purchase versus uncertain, I'd go for the Graftonite. My only complaint is the sharp edged mouthpiece barrel lip issue, which is easily fixable with a pocket knife. I've bought 3, a C7 alto, a C5 tenor, and a C5 bari Graphonite and have been happy with all of them.The Rico Royal Graftonite Tenor Saxophone Mouthpiece is molded out of plastic and comes in 3 chamber gradations, A, B and C, where A gives a darker tone, B is somewhere in the middle and C is brighter. Each gradation comes in 3 lay widths, 3, 5 and 7, where 3 is more closed and 7 the widest opening with greatest potentional for volume. (Note, in general one would use a softer reed for a wider opening because the reed vibrates more, covering a greater distance.)This mouthpiece was well molded and machined, workmanship was excellent, except for one little but easily user fixable issue. A Graftonite C7 mouthpiece I bought for my alto 6 months ago had a had a sharp edge on the lip of the mouthpiece barrel that heavily gouged the new neck cork. This was easily removed by deburring with a pocket knife. On older corks it obviously did not appear to be a problem, as my tenor Graphonite fit without a problem. I checked and sure enough, it had a fairly sharp edge, too. Afterwards, I deburred it to camfer that edge for safety. You may want to check the mouthpiece for this possible defect and do similar.For the price, this mouthpiece is a worthy, cost effective upgrade.